Twilight's Nikki Reed on Pet Rats & Finger Painting

We caught up with Twilight star Nikki Reed at the launch of Ubisoft's Just Dance 3 in LA the other night, just one month before the release of Breaking Dawn stirs up Twilight fever—again. Reed, along with her fiancé Paul McDonald (whom you know from American Idol ) had no problem being first on the scene. "We're starting the party!" Reed said. "I'm always an advocate to get people up and moving." The actress, who's less sultry and more down-to-earth than her roles suggest, has proved her range, going from indie-starlet in Thirteen to blockbuster-vampiress in the Twilight films—so we chatted about her ideal post-Twilight career, her style and the uglier aspects of fame.

ELLE: How do you define your style?NR:Well, clearly, I like to wear what's comfortable. That's my first instinct, to always go with what's comfortable. I'm really into Elizabeth and James. That's what I'm wearing right now. I feel like it fits my body right or just loose enough to be right. And my earrings are from Tacori.

ELLE: With the Twilight Saga ending, what does your post-Twilight life look like?NR: Life after Twilight has consisted of me, honestly, figuring out what direction I want to go in, who I am, what kind of films I want to make—or if I want to make films, or TV, or work on a novel. That's what Twilight has actually done, afforded me time to sit back and think for a second, `What do I want to do?' Focusing on the things that make me feel unique or different in any way is kind of what I want to do right now.

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ELLE: Do you have industry mentors helping you make those choices? NR: I do. Nia Vardalos is a wonderful lady. And Rita Wilson, Holly Hunter, Catherine Hardwick. Those are all women that I aspire to be like. Women that focus more on what's going on up here [in the mind] and have very, normal, grounded lives. They can make great movies and go to Starbucks, and no one cares. That's what I want.

ELLE: Is the constant attention or scrutiny challenging?NR: I have such strong feelings about internet-cyber bullying and all that. I was sitting with Lauren Alaina, who's one of the Idol's, in the Philippines two weeks ago. She was talking about someone saying something about whatever. And I was like, `Dude, I just was on E! Online—not Marc Malkin, but Ted Casablanca—and because of whatever was written, the people who go on there and the things that they say, the comments, are faceless so they're empowered. It doesn't get any easier. There are moments when I'll go on a wall and be like, `Oh, that doesn't bother me.' But words can be vicious. My mom taught me that as a kid, to watch what you say to others because you can't take it back, but it's a whole different game when it's in writing and there's no one to point a finger at.

ELLE: How do you get away from that and unwind?NR: Paul and I have a group of really silly friends. We are surrounded by goofy people. We're kind of goofy too. A night off includes finger painting on the walls—which we'll inevitably go back over with white the next day when we regret everything we've painted—and then some grilling, some cannonballs in the pool, and then some Just Dance, maybe some Yahtzee.

ELLE: As a child, was this your dream job?NR: I actually always wanted to work with animals—I still do. I have a beautiful dog named Enzo, but I've had horses, cats, rabbits, rats. I mean, I was that kid. I actually had six rats in junior high school: Callie, Splinter, Daisy, Sniffles, Crystal. They used to have baths and nail trimmings. It was serious.